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Worth a trip

Rating 3.4 (183 votes)

Corsica, France

Corsica, called the "Island of Beauty" by the ancient Greeks, lives up to its reputation as the most beautiful island in the Mediterranean. Once Tuscan, now French, Corsica is one of the few remaining islands of the Med that is still in a relatively unspoiled condition.

A circuit of the island involves some 900 kilometers of mostly tiny, twisting and very scenic roads. The northwest coast is especially rugged; the sea glows with aquamarine colors beneath the towering coastal mountains, some rising as high as 9,000 feet.

The Gulf of Porto is particularly scenic.

Attractions here include the Calanches, a rock garden of red granite pinnacles eroded into fantastic shapes, and the tranquil town of Porto with its Genoan castle atop a seaside pinnacle. There is great snorkeling around Cabo Rosso, the Rose Cape. The southern coasts have gentler scenery, but still very pretty with many coves of clean white sand. On the southwest coast is one of the more mysterious archaeological sites in Europe: the stone heads of Filitosa, a European Easter Island.

According to archaeologists, the heads depict a primitive warrior tribe that fought the ancient Egyptians. At the southernmost tip of the island is the medieval clifftop fortress-town of Bonifacio which overlooks the Emerald Straits to Sardinia.

The interior of Corsica is also well worth visiting, especially the mountain pass known as the Col de Bavella with its towering rock walls and pinnacles resembling Italy's Dolomites.